Tenodera close ups

[Digger]

Nikki Mantis on a house plant. Canon 50D with 580EX II Speedlight (bounced). Canon 100mm f/2.8 @ 1/60 f/16 handheld.

 

[lancaster1313]

I love the headshots! I can see the femoral brushes.

 

[Paradoxica]

Awesome photos.

It worked out perfectly for me... I just clicked on this thread (using my smart phone) just as my girlfriend asked me to take a picture of her. So I pretended to snap a photo and then showed her your pic, LOL

Thank you for that!

 

[Digger]

Haaaaaaaaa!! Paradoxica - please send a photo of you on crutches when you are able. :clown:

 

[Digger]

Likebugs - Didn't even notice her femoral brushes! Lucked out on the angle and lighting. Be fun to get a super macro and image just the brush array.

 

[lancaster1313]

That would be awesome!

I have a thing for femoral brushes.

 

[Paradoxica]

Haaaaaaaaa!! Paradoxica - please send a photo of you on crutches when you are able. :clown:

haha, it wasn't too bad, it was totally worth getting punched in the chest

 

[twolfe]

Digger, nice close-ups.

I love the headshots! I can see the femoral brushes.

Likebugs, thanks for pointing those out. I'm not sure I would have noticed them. I've been around for a couple of years now, but I still learn new things all the time.

 

[lancaster1313]

Digger, nice close-ups.

Likebugs, thanks for pointing those out. I'm not sure I would have noticed them. I've been around for a couple of years now, but I still learn new things all the time.

Just for anyone who doesn't already know it.

Mantids use them to clean their eyes and face.

 

[Sticky]

Thanks for the great pics! You and likebugs taught me and others something we never knew. Digger, I wish we lived closer together. I would ask you to take pics of my mantids. Too late for Martha and Sticky. I have others growing up to fill the empty spot inside.

Your baby is very handsome. I hope we see more of Nikki.

 

[sinensispsyched]

WOW! First of all, SUPERB PHOTOS! You could pick up a whole lot of followers just with your photography skills!

Second of all, I didn't realize that femoral brushes were so concentrated. I thought they were thinly scattered "hairs" on the mantis's raptorial. What are the "hairs" even made of? Some strange form of keratin?

 

[Rick]

Those are great pics.

 

[lancaster1313]

I first noticed the brushes on my Hierodula multispina mantids when the light hit them a certain way and they lit up like reflectors. :blink:

They are quite complex with stiff hairs that point in different directions. When I saw them in someone else's photos, I looked at all my mantid's forelegs and saw that they all were equipped with brushes.

Where are mine? If I wipe my face with my arm, it just spreads stuff around. :mellow: Not fair.

 

[Sticky]

They look like superfine velvet.

 

[ismart]

Great shots!

 

[Digger]

Thanks everybody! I'm just at the beginning of the learning curve for macro. Really fun stuff!

Sticky - next time I'm down east in Maine, we'll get some great portraits of your mantids. But try some photography yourself!

Likebugs - are these structures different depending on the species?

 

[lancaster1313]

Likebugs - are these structures different depending on the species?

I am not sure. They don't appear to be too much different, even on my roaches.

Maybe you can take photos of the brushes of different species' and compare? It would be an interesting topic.